Convert a Seat Bag to Handlebar Bag in 10 minutes

I had to get this bag – the ad said, “Great hack!” And from the sound of it, it was. The seller had cut the mounting straps off a Carradice seat-wedge, drilled two holes, and mounted it to a handle-bar mount designed for water bottles [Shameless editor's note: Problem Solvers provides a similar product, check it out]. I bought it, liked it, and messed around with it myself. Here are the two bolts – they’re button-headed M5 bolts with washers under the heads, inside the bag.

I tried the mount in two orientations: up-jutting and down-pointing. The up-jutting mount tucks the bag up under the stem, which is pretty clean. The bar part of the mount goes in the middle of the bag.

On the bike, the bag sticks forward a bit, and is almost flat. I like the look, but I’ve always had terrible luck with flat bags – they eject their contents, and over-stuffing them is impossible.

Not bad, but I thought flipping the mount over would give a better result. The down-pointing mount puts the bar near the top of the bag, instead of the middle. The bottom of the bag sits on the fender… if you have a long drop from bar to tire. If you have less, you can always drill new holes.

It’s a pretty solid setup, and the bag is vertical enough to keep things inside. My iPad fits, and a wool jersey, and a pump. The bag doesn’t appear to be waterproof, but I’d like to rectify that somehow.

I like the added utility, and it seems to integrate well with the overall look of the bike.